Can-labeling machine



G. -A. ROBINSON.

CAN LABELING MACHiNE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT 25, 1919.

1,335,714, Patentediuly'26,1921

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

G. A. ROBINSON.

CAN LABELING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT 25, I919.

1,385,? 14,-. Patented July 26, 1921. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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2% fflruentorn' I G. A. ROBINSON.

CAN LABELING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT 25, 1919.

Patented July 26, 1921.

4 SHEETS SHEET 3- G. A. ROBINSON. CAN LABELlNG MAC-HINE APPLICATION HLED SEPT 25, I919. I

Patented July 26, 1921.

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\a g x UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.Q

' GEORGE A. ROBINSON, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TOPNEU SCALE CORPORATION, LIMITED, 015 QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION E MAINE.

L CAN-LABELING MACHINE.

Speeification of Letters Patent. Pate t d J 2 1921 Application filed September 25, 1919. Serial No. 326,371.

I To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I', GEORGE A. ROBINSON,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Quincy, County of Norfolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Can-Labeling Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the ac- Companying drawings.

The invention relates to a new and useful improvement in machines for affixing labels to Cans. It is especially intended for affixing labels to cans which are rectangular in cross-section, and it is especially adapted for use with labels which extend around -four sides of the can. Some of the features of the invention, however, are applicable to cans of a shape other than rectangular, and

also to use in applying labels which do not necessarily extend around four sides of the can.

In order to remove all stretch from the paper and to overcome the tendency of the label to curl afterit has been gumined, means are provided torun the label through a water bath before it reaches the label-attaching mechanism and from the bath it is passed through the wringer rolls to wring out the surplus water, thenceit is passed over the gluing mechanism. After. passing the gluing mechanism which applies a thin film of glue to its under surface, it is carried to a suitable support having a slotted opening therein.

side of the label where it bridges over the slot, and the label is clamped to the upper side of the can. Then the can continues to move upward between two folders which fold the label down and against two opposite sides of the can, the downwardly extending ends of the label extendin down below the lower side of the can. T en the said folder members are actuated to sue cessively fold up against the under side of the'can the downwardly extending ends of the label into overlapping" relation to each other on the under side of the can.

The invention will be fully understood fromthe following description when taken in connection-with the accompanying drawings, and the novel features thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at theclose of this specification.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation. of a machine embodying the invention.

being the only portion of the One of the cans is moved anism. This mechanism is at the left of i the mechanism shown in Fig. 5, part of the glue roll at the right-hand end of Fig. 6 mechanism of Fig. 6 which is shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detailed elevation showing safety mechanism for stopping the machine in case there is no can in position to be labeled.

Fig. 8 is a plan View showing the label support and the side register mechanism. h s is on an enlarged scale from Fig. 1. 111g. 9 is an end elevation partlyimsection showing the side register operating mechanism, and showing the side friction plates for retaining the can in position after it has'passedup through the folding rolls.

F g. 10 1s a section on line 10-10 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 11 is a detailed planview showing the arm for operating the lap folder slide.

Fig. 12 1s a side elevation, partly in section showing the elevator and the can guides.

Fig. 13 is an end View of one of the cans after the label has been folded around three sides of the can.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 reprei sents the main frame of the machine. Secured to one side of the main frame is a frame 2 which supports a series of studs on -which are'mounted a series." of tape rolls which extend transversely of the machine. These tape rolls are designated respectively by the numerals 3, 4,5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

'Mounted on suitable bear ngs at some distance above the series of rolls already men- .tioned are three other rolls 12, 13 and 14,

which carries the supports for the lower rolls is supported from the frame 1 at a point above the-top of the tankin such manwithout disturbing the frame itself.

. the tank. The

carried by ner that the tank can be raised and lowelrpld e tapes run in pairs, there being shown seven pairs of the tapes. tape, one set of tapes designated a and the other set of tapes designated 7). During a part of their run, both tapes of each pair run over the same roll. When both tapes run over the same roll, one of said tapes runs on the surface of the other tape of the pair and thus act as feeds to carry the label. The tape a, for instance, runs up over the roll 12, thence down and around the rolls 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 13, 6, 5, 4, 3 and back over 12. Tape 1) runs over roll 11, 10, 9,8, 7, 16 and 12 back to 11. The double lines show where the surface of one tape of the pair runs on the face of the other tape of the pair, some of the time one tape being on the outer side and some of the time the other tape being on the outer side. These tapes are constantly traveling, being driven through the gears 15 and .16, the lower rolls being merely guide rolls. The water in the tank whose level is indicated by the numeral 18 should be high enough to cover all of the tapes in labels are fed in one by one between the two tapes (rand bat a point between the rolls 12 and '14 at the upper right-hand part of the machine. These labels may be fed in any suitable way, either by hand or by mechanical feed, the mechanical feed being preferable, but it is not shown in the drawings, as the particular method of feeding the labels forms no part of the present invention.

As soon as a label is fed in between the tapes at the point between the rolls 12 and 14, the tapes at that point running downward, the label is carried by the tapes through the water tank in a circuitous path, as will be plainly seen by following the double lines which show where the tapes run together, and finally they are carried up out of the water tank to a point between the rolls 13 and 14, where the tapes (Jr-b separate from each other and the label is the roll 13. Strippei'fingers 1-9 arepivoted at one end at 20, the other end extending out over the roll 13 between the several tapes a, and guides the label so that it will follow the tape a over the roll 13 instead of following the tape 6 over the roll 14. (See Figs. 1 and 5.)

As the label is carried on the outer surface of the tape a on the roll 13, it is stripped from the tape by a series of stripper fingers 21, which extend between the tapes and guide the label between two wringer rolls 22-'-23, the purpose of these wringer rolls being to wring the surplus water out of the label.

' The label should preferably be wide enough to stretch over and be carried by at least three of the tapes, and may be over Each tape is an endless the upper run of the tape a over.

of some non-rusting material such as brass or composition, and the upper roll 23 is preferably made ofsome material such as rubber, to which the label has a less tendency to adhere than it has to the lower roll, so that the label will have a tendency to follow the lower roll rather than the upper roll.

The lower wringer roll 22 is mounted on a fixed axis and the upper roll 23 is preferably mounted on a yielding axis. As shown, the upper roll 23 is mounted in an arm 24 pivoted at 25 and is held down in yielding engagement with the roll 22 by a spring 26.

The label is guided to a glue roll 28 from between the wringer rolls by a series of stripper fingers 27 The said fingers are preferably under tension of a spring. The lower wringer roll 22 is positively driven while the upper wringer roll is driven by frhlztional contact with the lower wringer r0 The driving mechanism for the glue roll, the wringer roll and the tape rolls is as follows (see Figs. 1, 3 and 5) A chain 29 runs over a sprocket 30 on the mainv driving shaft 31 and over a sprocket 32 on a stud 33 fastenedto the frame of the machine. Connected with this stud is a gear 34, (see Fig. 5), said gear, 34 meshing with a gear 35 on the glue roll shaft 36. The gear 34 also meshes with a gear 37 fast on the lower wringer roll shaft. A gear 38 on the lower wringer roll shaft shown in Fig. 5 but not shown in Fig. 3, meshes with an. idler gear 39. which is mounted loosely on a stud in gear 15 carried by the tape roll 13, and the gear 15 meshes with the gear 16 carried by the tape roll 14.

The upper wringer roll as mentioned before is preferably made of rubber, or some like material, which gives better contact with the lower roll and which also does not have so much tendency to stick to the label as does the lower wringer roll. At times, however, it has been found that the label does follow the upper roll,,andmeans are provided to prevent thisaction. 5.) The rubber roll, 23 is formed with annular sections .41 of metal at several places in its length which are inserted into the roll so that the surface is flush with the surface of the rubber portion of theroll. These metal sections are each formed with a peripheral groove 42 into which extend stripper fingers 43 carried on a hub mounted (See Fig.

The lower wringer roll 22 is preferably ios the frame. The gear 39 meshes with the on the shaft 44 which carries the arm 24 serve to remove the .label from the wringer roll whenever the label starts to roll around the wringer roll 23.

The label passes from between the wringer rolls, over the glue roll28 as already mentioned, where a thin layer of glue is applied to the under side of the label. The label .is fed through the machine with the printed side uppermost. After the label passes over the top surface ofthe glue roll, it is stripped off the glue roll by a series of stripper fingers 46, (see Figs. 1 and 6), which are held down in light contact with the glue roll by a spring 47.

The label is driven positively by contact with the tapes or rolls up to the point where it is stripped from the glue roll. At this point, it is moved by a gripper which seizes the forward end ofthe label as it comes from the glue roll, and transfers itover into position where it is first movedinto register sidewise with the can and where it is then applied to the surface of the can.

This gripper device and its actuating mechanism to properly position the label will be more particularly described hereinafter; (see Figs. 1, 4 and 6) briefly, it comprises a gripper finger 48 pivotally mounted in a recess 49 in a gripper roll 50 which is loosely mounted on a shaft 51, said shaft '51 being mounted in a reciprocable slide carrier 52. Means are provided by which the label will be seized by the gripper at the proper time, and the carrier in which the gripper is mounted will be moved to deposit the label inproper position for engagement by the can.

The label support consists of narrow strips of metal, preferably wires 53-, disposed parallel with each other and spaced some distance apart to form a sort of grid, and are mounted in a slide frame. (See Figs. 1, 6, 8 and 9.) The wires at one end are con-- 7 nected with a crossbar 54 and'the other ends are connected with a crossbar 55. There are two of these grids which have a space 155 between them through which the can is brought up to engage with the under side of the label 56 when it is laid in position. on the said label support or grids. The object of having the label support formed as a grid is in order to have as little contact with the label as possible.

The shaft 51 on which the gripper roll 50 is loosely mounted as previously stated, is carried in suitable bearings in, a slide or carrier 52, which reciprocates horizontally on a rectangular guide 57 in the frame .of the machine. (See Figs. 1, 4 and 6.) The gripper roll is provided with a finger 48 which is controlled by relative rotation between-the shaft and the roll, so that the finger is actuated underspring tension to close against the surface of the roll and to rip the label. The gripper finger 48 is 66 ormed in the shape of'a bell crank pivoted at 58. The arm 59 of said bell crank finger is formed with a notch which engages with a pin 60 extending from the grip roll shaft 51 (see Fig. 6). 7 As the shaft rotates, this pin operates on the arm of the bell crank to swing it in such manner that thegripping arm 48 will be moved toward the roll and grip the label.

When the carrier 52 moves forward with the gripping roll and label, the label is finally delivered on the support formed by the wires 53 in the position shown in Fig. 6, the gripping roll then rotating a little farther after the carrier stops to lay the label fiat.

Referring to Fig. 6, this figure shows the label being taken from the glue roll just at the point where it is seized by the gripper and is about to be transferred to the left into position on the grid where it will be engaged by the can and carried to the folding mechanism.

The gripper roll shaft is provided at one end with a pinion 64, (see Fig. 4), which engages with a rack (see Figs. 4 and 6) which is slidably mounted in the grip carrier 52. The rack is provided with a pin 66 which extends from the face of the rack and bears on the up er side of a horizontal rectangular bar 67. This rectangular bar lies against the face of the carrier guide 57 in a recess 68 between the carrier 52 and the carrier guide 57. The said bar 67 is carried on two studs 70, one at each end thereof, each stud being mounted in one end of a bell crank 69. One of these bell cranks is shown at the left-hand end of Fig. 6. The bell crank at the other end is not shown inthe drawings although the stud is shown, the

bell crank being omitted to avoid obscuring I the other parts, but is similar to the one shown at the left-hand end. Said bell crank pivoted on a stud 71 which extends from is the face of the carrier guide 57. The upper ends of the arms of the two bell cranks are pivotally connected with a connecting rod 72. The studs 7 O which connect the bell crank with the bar 67 respectively pass through curved guide slots 73 in the carrier guide 57, so that the said studs can swing in an arcuate path when the bell cranks 69 swing on'their pivots 'and. give a parallel motion linkage to the bar 67 and the connecting rod 72. When the bar 67 is raised by the bell crank 69, the rack 65 will be lifted by reason of engagement of the bar with the,

rotating the gripper roll shaft 51.

A vertical connecting rod 74 is attached at its upper end to the left-hand bell crank 69 and extends downward to an arm 75 on a shaft 76 journaled in the frame of the machine, (see Fig. 1).

At the other end ofsaid shaft 76 is a cani lever 77.which hasa roll adapted to and through the run on the rim of a pair ofadjustable cams 78 and 79 at the end of the cam shaft (see Fig. 1). The cam 78 operates to release the label from the gripper fingers and the cam 7 9 actuates the mechanism which sets the gripper to grip the label.

The side of the pin 66 which projects from the rack 65 is held incontact with the upper edge of the bar 67 by means of a spring 80. As the parts are shown in Fig. 6, they are in proper position so that as the cam 7 9 actuates the connecting rod 74 through the intermediate mechanism previously described to move the bar 57 into its lower position, the rack will be moved downward, engagement of its teeth with the pinion 64 on the gripper roll shaft, will turn the shaft in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6. The first movement of this grip roll shaft 51 will allOW the finger 48 to close and grip the label. As the shaft rotates, the pin which projects from the grip roll shaft engages with the notch in the arm 59 of the gripper finger and operates on the arm of the gripper finger to swing it in such a manner that the outer end of the finger will be moved toward the roll and grip the label. When the shaft 51 has rotated far enough with relation to the roll 50V to bring the gripper arm in contact with the roll, or to grip the label against the roll, the further revolution of the shaft will carry the roll with it and will swing part of the label around the roll. The actual movement of this roll is about one-half a turn. There are two reasons for this movement of the roll, one reason being to wrap the label partly around the roll in order to distribute the strain over the entire width of the label rather than to put all of the strain upon the label at the single narrow point which is engaged by the gripper finger and which would tear the label. I rotates with the label until it is rolled up as far as it appears in the right-hand dotted line position of the roll in Fig. 6, but this takes lace while the gripper roll is still in its rig t-hand position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 6, and before it is to .be'moved bodily forward by the carrier 52. 1 'The roll remains in this rotated position on its axis until the roll has withdrawn the label from the glue roll and the carrier 52 has moved the roll bodily forward and carried the label into a position where it is to-be left on the label support bridging the space 155 through which the can is to move.

- When the label has reached the proper position, the cam 78 actuates the connecting rod 7 4 to move the bar 67 upward and thereby lift the rack 65, thereby rotating the gripper roll backward. This backward rotary movement of the grip er will begin before the carrier 52 has reac ed the end of its forward stroke, so that it may lay out fiat The roll upon the wire grid or label support that portion of the label which was wound around the gripper roll.

The gripper roll will be rotated in a counter clockwise direction at a speed slightly in excess of the linear speed of the roll carrier, so as to be sure to unroll the label faster than it is laid down, otherwise it will tend to tear the label or to pull it. This reverse rotation of the roll allows the label to be deposited upon its .supportand to remain stationary thereon while the carrier is still moving and while the gripperhas still a hold on the end of the label, as shown in the left-hand dotted osition in Fig. 6. The roll is turned in this reverse direction until it reaches a point on its axis'shown in the full line position at the right-hand part of Fig. 6. At this time, a pin 81 which extends from one end of the gripper roll, (see Fig. 4), will have come in contact with a shoulder 82 on the bearing in the carrier;

This limits the rotation of the roll, and a slight further movement of the shaft against the action of the spring83 (see Fig. 8) opens the gripper jaw and releases the end of the label, one end of said spring being fast to the shaft and the other end of the spring being fast to the roll. This is done while the roll and the carrier are in the left-hand dotted position shown in Fig. 6. The gripper carrier5 2 continues to travel a short distance farther to the left than shown in Fig. 6, and after the can has been raised to lift the label from the support and has passed to its uppermost position together with the elevator which moves the can, the gripper carrier is moved to the right to its original position shown in full lines in Fig. 6 ready to receive the next label and during this movement it passes beneath the can elevator.

The grip carrier 52 has a swivel nut 84 through which pa$esa connecting rod .85 which is threaded in the portion that goes through the nut (see Figs. 1 and 6), the other end of the connecting rod being carried by a-swivel 86 at one end of a dam lever 87. The cam lever 87 is pivoted interrier, is so that a slight adjustment can-be made on the carrier while the machine is running. The end of the connecting rod 85 which passes through the upper end of the cam lever is provided with a thumb nut 91 to enable this adjustment to be made.

The cans 92, as previously stated, are rectangular in cross-section andare brought into the machine on a belt conveyer 93 shown side of the can.

at the left-hand of Fig. 1. They are shown as resting on the 'conveyer on the narrow The cans are brought into the machine on this conveyer until the foremost can engages stops and side guides 94, 95 which respectively engage the two advance corners of the can and locate the last can on the belt in a definite position. mounted on a vertically slidable rod 99 (see Figs. 8 and 9), raises the can from the table 157 between the guides 94 and 95 and guides 96 and 97 until the top surface of the can has come in contact with the under side of the label. During this first part of the movement of the can, a presser foot 199 which is carried on the end of a vertical rod 100 mounted loosely in suitable guides 101102 and driven by an arm 108, descends toward the label. This presser foot comes in contact with the top side of the label and presses it firmly against the can about the same instant that the can comes up against the under side of the label. The elevator still continues to rise and the presser foot rises with it holding the can firmly between them. A short distance above this point are located two folder rolls 104-105, spaced apart a width equal to the thickness of the can. In passing between these two rolls, the label is smoothed down on each side of the can and the glue causes the label to adhere to the can both on the upper edge and on the sides. The can then passes up between two friction plates 106107 (see Figs. 1 and 9), the friction plate 106 being stationary and the friction plate 107 being carried on springs 109-109 so that it will yield slightly as the can comes into contact with it. (See Figs. 1 and 10;)

The means for actuating the press er foot rod 100 is as follows :-Mounted on the shaft 190 which carries the arm 103 is an arm 191 to which is connected the upper end of a connecting rod 192. The lower end of the connecting rod is connected with a lever 193 which carries a roll engaging with a cam 194 on shaft 90. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

Viewing the can with relation to the machine, as shown in Fig. 1, the label is first wrapped over the top of the can, that is, over the side edge which is uppermost as it lies on the support, and down the two sides of the can leaving a portion of the label at each end thereof projecting some distance below the lower edge of the can to be folded over the lower edge, the projection on one side extending down somewhat lower than that on the other. In the usual and preferred arrangement, the portion at the lefthand end extends for about three-fourths of an inch to one inch belowv the lower edge. On the opposite side, that is, the rightside as viewed in Fig. 1, the label extends downward below the lower edge a distance equal An elevator 98 extension is to be first folded against the lower edge of the can, then the right-hand extension is to be folded, covering the lefthand lap and extending entirely across the lower edge. As the particular form of ma chine is constructed, the long lap has to be on the right side, although it is obvious that the parts could be reversed.

Before the said bottom extensions or flaps are folded, however, the elevator must descend so that it will be out of the way of the bottom folding movement. This will be controlled by the can and connections which actuate the elevator. When the elevator moves down out of engagement with the can, the can will be retained in position by the grip of the friction plates 106 and107.

In order to provide for a longer lap on the right-hand side than on the left-hand side, the label is deposited on the wire label support by the label carrier, previously described, a little to one side of the center line of the can, that is, as viewed in Figs. 1, 6 and 8, when the label is deposited upon the wire or grid support and bridge over the space 155 through which the elevator and can pass upward, the portion of the label on the farther side of the gap 155, that is on the left-hand side, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 6, will be a little less than the portion of the label on the right-hand side.

When the elevator moves upward with the can, it is moved to a position where the under side of the can is in a line with the top surface of the folding rolls 104105. This position determines the upper limit of travel of the elevator, but the presser foot 99 continues moving upward a slight farther distance to remove it from contact with the top of the can after the label has been folded.

The right-hand folding roll 105, as shown in Fig. 1, is supported on stationary bearings with relation to the machine. The lefthand folding roll 104 is carried by a yoke 110, said yoke being carried on a horizontal rod 111, which is slidably mounted in guides 112. This yoke is held in position, as shown in Fig. 1, by means of a spring, and is mounted so that when the roll comes in contact with the under surface of the can, it

may be depressed slightly against the tension of this spring 113, so as to insure a good contact of the folding roll against the bottom of the can. This yoke is forked to receivethe roll between the branches of the fork. The spring carries the roll up again after the roll is out of contact with the can. The yoke strikes the under side of the slide rod on which it is mounted to limit the upward position of the roll.

The left-hand roll 104 is moved partly across the lower edge of the can to fold the left-hand downwardly extending portion of the label by means of suitable actuating but also bein mechanism after the can has moved up far enough for the said folder rolls 104- 105 to fold the label against the two opposite sides of the can. The said operating mechanism,

as shown to fold the left-hand lap is as follows :-(See Fig. 1).

Connected with the slide rod 111 on which the yoke 110 which carries the roll 104 1s mounted, is a pin 114, the lower end of said pin being connected with a forked lever 115, said forked lever being connected also with a vertical rocker shaft 116. The rocking of the shaft 116 reciprocates the slide rod 111.

The lower end of the rocker shaft 116 is connected with a lever 117, (see Fig. 2), having a roll which engages with a cam 118 on the main cam shaft 90, thereby actuating the rocker shaft116 and the lever 115 at its upper end to reciprocate the slide rod 111 and the folding roll 104. When the folding roll is'moved to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1, it engages the downwardly extending short lap of the label and folds it up against the under side of the can.

The right-hand downwardly extending end of the label is folded by pushing the can to the right so that it will ride over the top of the right-hand folding roll 105, trailing the extended portion of the label over the roll and folding it up to overlap the already folded left-hand portion. This is accomplished by means of a pusher plate 119 carried on a slide'rod 120 :which is slidably mounted in bearings in the frame. At this point in the cycle of the machine, this slide rod and pusher are moved to the rightuntil thepusher comes in contact with the side face of the can as it is held between the friction plates 1066107. The continued movement of this pusher moves the can to the right,

the under surface of the can and of the downwardly extending label moving over the right-hand folding roll 105 and completing the folding operation. The pressure of the roll is sufficient to cause the glued label to adhere to the overlapped surace.

'The can is pushed to the right after passing out from beneath the right-hand folding roll far enough .to be deposited on a support until it is pushed off said support onto a discharge belt 121 which runs over two pulleys that are mounted in the machine, and from the said discharge belt it can be removed in any suitable way. (See Fig. 1.) The said intermediat support preferably consists of a brush 122 so as to make a soft support which will have a frictional surface to prevent the can from too readily sliding on it,

and there is also provided a second brush 123 which bears on the upper side of the can.

(See Figs. 1, 2 and 10.) These brushes not only serve to create ,a slight drag on the can yielding, they will accommodate themse ves to cans of'somewhat varying thicknesses. As soon as the next can passes from the folding rolls, it will push the first can off from its brush onto the dismade separate from the bracket in which the pulley 126 for the discharge belt is mounted, so that the bearing for the pulley 126 of the discharge belt may always remain stationary, as the movement of the bearing for the pulley would necessitate either lengthening or shortening the discharge belt in order to keep it tight.

The pusher slide rod means of an arm 127 one end of which is loosely connected with the slide rod 120, the other end being made fast on a rocker shaft 128 on which is also mounted fast one end of an arm 129, the other end of said arm 129 being connected with the vertical connecting rod 130. (See Fig. 1.) The lower end of said connecting rod 130 is attached to a cam lever 131, (see Fig. 2), having a roll which engages with a path cam 132 mounted on the camshaft 90.

The label supports previously described which comprise the wires 53 mounted in the side bars 5455, are carried on slides 133 which are mounted in a bracket 134 which forms a part of the side frame. (See Figs. 1, 8 and 9.) Each of these slides is provided with a slotted opening 135 into which one end of a lever 136 extends. There are two of these levers, one for each slide. Each lever 136 is mounted on a rocker shaft 137 which is ,journaled in the same bracket 134 which carries the slide. Intermediate the two levers 136 is a shorter lever 138 mounted on said shaft. 137 and carrying at its outer end a roll 139. This lever with its roll is so locatedon the rocker shaft that the upper end of the elevator rod 99 as it rises with the can will come in contact with the roll and swing the arm 138 toward the right, as viewed in Fig. 9, rocking the shaft 137. This movement of the shaft will turn the levers 136 and move the slides 133 to the ri ht, as viewed in Figs. 8 and 9, carrying w1th them the label support. A pair of guides 140 extends crosswise overthe wires 53 of the label support, a portion of the guide extending down between the wires to serve as a side guide for the label. (See Figs. 8 and 9.) Each of these guides is carried by one of the brackets 141 which terminate in a boss 142 provided with a hole through which a stud 143 passes. This stud is clamped to 120 is actuated by the bracket 195 which forms a part of the side frame by means of a screw'144 which passes through a slot 145in the bracket, and the guides 140 are adjusted by loosening this clamp screw and sliding the stud together with the two guides forward or back, the stud serving to keep the guides parallel during this adjustment.

lvhen the label is brought into position by the carrier and delivered on the wire label support, it is left a short distance away from the guides 140, as shown .in Fig. 9. As the label is inclined to twist slightly in being brought into position, and is delivered on a support in slightly different position each time a label is delivered onto the support, it is desirable to have this space left so that the label will not hit against the side of the guides 140. In order that the label shall be wrapped properly about the can and that the overlapping ends shall register properly,

it is necessary to square up the label with relation to the can before thecan touches the label in its upward movement. The movement of the label support and slide 133 to the right, when the elevator rod 99 moves up and engages the roll 139 on the arm 138, as viewed in Fig. 9, carries the label with it until the edge of the label strikes the guides 140. On account of the contact between the wires of the support and the label being so small and the glue also being more or less slippery, when the label strikes the guides 140, the movement of the label will be checked and the further movement of the slides 133 will cause the wires of the support to slip on the under face of the label. This brings the label into proper position with the can and registers one edge of the label against the guides 140.

When the elevator descends and passes by the roll 139 on the arm 138, a spring 146 which is attached to one of the arms 136 and to the frame returns the slides 133 and the label support into the original position, or as shown in Fig. 9.

The label support is fastened to the slides 133 by a clamping screw 147 which passes through a slot 148 in the side bar 55 of the label support and allows adjustment for difi erent sized cans. (See Fig. 8.)

The brackets 141 which carry the guides 140 are also slidably connected with the label support in such'a way that as the label supports are adjusted, the brackets 141 together with the guides 140 are carried with it and are always in the same relation to the label support.

When the can is brought into position to be raised through the folding mechanism, the guides 94-95 locate the can on one side, and as the can" is raised upward, it also encounters the guides 96-97 on the opposite side of the can from the guides 94-95.

These guides 96-97 are supported from the chine.

bracket 149 which is L-shaped, one end of which is held against the frame of the ma- (See Fig. 8.) These back guides 96-97 which are united together as one guide, are somewhat shorter than the front guides 94-95, that is, they do not extend down quite so low, so that as the cans come into position on the belt, they may pass beneath the guide. The guide, however, should extend very nearly to the top of the can in order that it may serve as a check to the next can in line.

When the elevator raises the foremost can toward the label, there is a slight tendency in some cases for the can next to it to rise owing to the frictional contact between the two, and the lower ends of the back guides 96-97 serve to prevent the second can from rising.

The cans are brought into the machine by the conveyer belt 93 in a 'step-by-step motion from the left-hand, as viewed in Fig. 1. When the can is raised by the elevator from the end of the conveyer, if the belt were moving continuously, then as soon as the can had been raised from the belt, the following cans would move forward bringing the second can into position beneath the elevator, so that when the elevator descended it would come down on top of the can. It is therefore, important that the conveyer belt should have a step-by-step motion, moving forward at each period far enough only to bring a can into proper position and not to start again until the elevator has returned to its lower position. This step-by-step motion is obtained as follows A lever 150 (see Fig. 1, lower left-hand corner) is pivoted at its lower end at 151 in a bracket and at its upper end is provided with a fork 152 whose arms extend upward on opposite sides of the belt 93. Between the top ends of the fork is journaled a roll 153 which rides on the belt 93 and below the belt the fork is provided with an eccentric clamp 154, which is pivoted between the arms of the fork. The lever 150 is provided intermediate its ends with an arm carrying a roll 255 which engages with a cam 156 (see Fig. 2), and causes the lever to move to the right and left, as viewed in Fig. 1. When the cam moves the arm to the right, as shown in Fig. 1, the roll 153 and the clamp 154 carried by the lever move along over the .belt until the lever has reached its extreme right-hand position. The clamp will move freely in this direction. On the reverse movements, the clamp 154 by reason of its eccentricity and the action of the spring 256 connected with the clamp grips the belt, clamping it against the roll 153 and thereby draws the under run of the belt with it toward the left and moves the upper run of the belt to the right bringing the can into position above the elevator.

60 features of the invention.

' ity extra length of time soft that it could not be alongside of the said table so that when the off the said table by the next can is pushed it will slide onto the elevator following can, shelf 98.

The object of moisteni'ng the label is to remove all stretch from the label and to re move all tendency of the label to curl after it is glued. the label easier to handle when passing through the machine. It has been found that labels of different thickness and different qualities require different amounts of moistening in order to bring them into proper condition to be applied to the can.

his result can be obtained in either one of two ways ;one way is to leave the label in the water bath for a longer time where the paper is either thicker or of better quality than is required when the paper is relatively thin or of cheaper-quality, as the thin paper or paper of cheaper quality absorbs the moisture much quicker than the thicker or better quality. As the machine is constructed, it has been found im ractical to vary the length of time that the label is left in the water bath, since this would require either a lengthening or shortening of the tapes to vary the length of the run through the water bath'or'a variation in the speed of the machine. If the speed of the machine is reduced, it will diminish the rapidwith which the cans are labeled. ..It is not possible to so construct the machine as to allow sufficient time to moisten the better quality of label and then to use a cheaper quality of paper in the same machine, asthe would render the cheaper paper so handled through the wringer rolls and the glue roll and bythe presser mechanism. The other and better method is to vary the temperature of the water, since it has been found that water penetrates through the paper much more rapidly as the temperature is increased. Therefore, means are providedin the present machine to vary the temperature of the water bath to accommodate the various conditions which are met in the samev machine. This is one of the This is accomplished in the present machine by means of introducing steam through a valve-controlled pipe which enters the tank. As shown in the drawings, the steam pipe160 This latter feature is to make opens into the tank preferably at the lower part of one side thereof, and is provided with a valve at 161 to control the introduction of the steam. In. order that the temperature of the water at any time may be determined, a thermometer 162 is inserted in the tank, the tank being provided with a glass sight through which the thermometer can be read from the outside. In ordinary practice, the temperature ranges from 90 for the cheapest quality of paper used up to about 170 for the thickest or best quality of paper. I

It is desirable that in the absence of a can in position to be received by the elevator on its upward stroke, to have some means provided whereby the machine will be automatically stopped because if the machine continues in operation, a label will be brought into position whether there is a can to receive it or not, and if there is no can to receive it, the label will be carried up through the machine and back down again and have a tendency to clog the machine and, as the operation is continued, it will gum up the machine. Means to accomplish the above desired results are as follows;-

(See Figs. 1 and 7.) The main driving shaft 31 is provided with a clutch connection 170 to the. driving pulley 171. The clutch 170 is actuated by means of a lever 172 which is moved to the right to throw out the clutch, and moved to the left to engage the clutch, as shown in Fig. 7. As the lever is 7, the clutch is unengaged.

shown in Flg. The upper end of said lever 172 is connected with one end of a connecting rod 17 3,'the

other end of said connecting rod being connected with one end of an arm 174 mounted on a rocker shaft 175. This arm, as shown in Fig.1, is approximately in line with the driving shaft directly above it. (See Fig. 1, lower middle portion.) On the same rocker shaft 175 but farther to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, is a second rocker'arm 176 similar to the rocker arm 174:. The outer end of said arm 176 is connected with a rod 177. This second-rocker arm 176 is directly behind the rocker arm 17 4, shown in.Fig.;7, 1

and therefore is not shown therein but, is shown in Fig. 1. The other end of necting rod 177 is provided with a,

178 by means of which the connecting may be pushed longitudinally to actuate the clutch lever 172 to engage and disengage the clutch.

The rocker shaft 175 is also provided with a lever 179 which extends horizontally to the left, as viewed in Fig. 7. The outer end of said lever 179 is'provided with a downwardl extending portion 180 (see Figs-1 and 7 and on theface of the lever at its Rpper side is fastened a' steellatch plate 181..

ounted on a stud held in the frame of a machine is a rocker lever 182. (See Fig. 1.)

' cam shaft 90.

The left-hand arm of said rocker lever 182 carries a stud on which is mounted a roll, the roll engaging a cam 183 on the main The right-hand arm of said lever 182 carries a finger 184 which is pivoted to the arm and is held in contact with the downwardly hanging portion 180 of the lever 179 by means of a spring 185. (See Fig. 1.)

When this spring 185 is allowed to hold the finger 184 in contact with the lever 179 as the main shaft rotates to bring this cam surface around into contact with the roll on the rocker lever 182, said lever 182 will be rocked on its stud and the right-hand end will be thrown upward carrying with it the finger 184. The upper end of this finger will engage with the latch plate 181 on the face of thelever 17-9, and will move the lever 179 upward, thus rocking the shaft 175 and disengaging the clutch.

Means are provided to hold the finger 184 out of contact with the latch plate when there is a can in position to be taken by the elevator to the label. A vertical shaft 186 (see Fig. 7), which is located alongside one of the side frames of the machine carries at its upper end a finger 187 which extends outward into the path of the can 92 on the elevator 98, and is adapted to-contact with the can when it is in position between the side guides. The lower end ofsaid shaft 186 is provided with a finger 188 which extends horizontally at right angles to the shaft into contact with the finger 184. When the can has been moved into its position on the elevator and has moved the finger 187 on the shaft 186, it will rock the shaft 186 and move thefinger 188 on the lower end of the shaft in such a way that the finger 184 will be moved out of contact with the lever 179. While in this position and before the can has been raised by the elevator, the cam 183 will rotate and the rocker lever 182 will be moved to actuatethe finger 184 upward, and under these conditions the finger 184 will pass up by the latch 181 without engaging with it.

What I claim is,

1. A labeling machine having a plurality of pairs of feed tapes, the two feed tapes of each pair running one over the surface of the other for a portion of their travel, the several tapes of each set running parallel with each other in the same plane and with a sli ht space between two adjacent tapes of eac set, a plurality of rolls over which said tapes are run, a water tank in which said tapes are submer ed during a portion of their travel, a pair of rolls outside of the tank over one of which one set of said tapes runs and over the other of which the other set of said tapes runs after leaving the water, causing the two sets to separate from each other, and guides which extend into the spaces between the parallel tapes of each Set and cause the label to be carried by one set of said tapes in preference to being carried by the other set of said tapes when the two sets of tapes diverge from each other.

2. A labeling machine having a plurality of pairs of feed tapes, the two feed tapes of each pair'running one over the surface of the other for a portion of their travel, the several tapes of each set running parallel with each other in the same plane and with a slight space between two adjacent tapes, a plurality of rolls over which said tapes are run, a water tank in which said tapes are submerged during a portion of their travel, a pair of rolls outside of the tank over one of which one set of tapes runs and over the other of which the other set of said tapes runs causing the two sets to separate from each other, guide fingers which cause the label to pass over one set of tapes in preference to passing over the other set of tapes when the two sets of tapes diverge from each other, guide fingers which extend into the spaces between the tapes as the tapes run from the last of said rolls and a pair of wringer rolls between which the label is guided by said fingers.

3. A labeling machine hai ing a plurality.

of pairs of feed tapes, the two feed tapes of each pair running one over the surface of the other for a portion of their travel, the sev eral tapes of each set running parallel with each other in the same plane and with a slight space between two adjacent tapes,a

plurality of rolls over which said tapes are run, a water tank in which said tapes are submerged during a portion of their travel,

a pair of rolls outside of the tank over one of which one set of said tapes runs causing the two sets to separate from each other, guide fingers which cause the label to pass over one set of tapes in preference to passing over the other set of tapes when the two sets of tapes diverge from each other, wringer rolls between which the moistened label passes a glue roll, means for guiding the label from the wringer rolls to the glue roll, means for guiding the label from the glue roll, a label support, means for transferring the label from the glue roll to the said support, said label support having an opening which is bridged by said label when on the support, means for carrying a can up said tapes are submerged during a portion of their travel, a pair of rolls outside of roll, means for guiding the label from the,

the tank over one of which one set of said tapes runs causing the two sets to separate from each'other, guide fingers which cause the label to pass-over one set of tapes in preference to passing over the other set oftapes when the two sets of tapes diverge from each other, wringer rolls between which the moistened label passes, a glue wringer rolls to the glue roll, means for guiding the label from the glue roll, a label support, means for transferring the label from the glue roll to said support, said label support having an opening which is bridged by said label when on the support, means for carrying a can up through the opening in said support against the under surface of the label, means for clamping the label to the upper surface of the can, a pair of folder rolls spaced apart a vdistance equal to the width of the can on opposite sides of the opening through which the can is to move, and means for moving the canupward between said folder rolls while the label is clamped to the can, the folder rolls giving a yielding pressure to press the downwardly extending portions of the label against the two opposite sides of the can.

their travel, a pair of rolls outside of the tank over one of which one set of said tapes runs causing the two sets of tapes to separate from, each other, guide fingers which cause the label -to pass over one set of tapes in preference to passing over the other set of tapes when the two sets of tapes diverge from each other, 7 wringer .rolls between which the moistened label passes, a glue roll, means for guiding the label from the wringer rolls to .the glue roll, means for guiding the label from the glue roll, a label support, means for transferring the label from the glue roll to said support, said glue roll support having an opening which is bridged by said label when on thesupport, means for carrying a can up throu h the opening in said support against t e under surface of the label, means for clamping the label to the upper surface of the can, a pair of folder rolls spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the can on opposite sides of the space through whichthe can is to move, means for moving the can upward between said folder rolls while the label is clamped to the can, the folder rolls giving a yielding pressure to press the downwardly extending portion of the label against the two opposite sides of the can, the label being of such length that its two opposite ends will extend down below the lower edges of the can, means for reciproeating one of said folder rolls in such manner that it folds one of the downward extending ends up against the under side ofthe can, and means for moving the can in a direction to cause it to ride over the other folder. roll and thereby fold the second downwardly extending end up against the under side of the can.

6. labeling machine having means for feeding a label, means for applying glue to the label, a label support at a station beyond the luing mechanism,means for transfer'ring t e label from the gluing mechanism to said support, said support having an opening which is bridged by said label when on said support, means for carrying a can up through the opening in said support against the under side of the label,

7 means for clamping the label to the upper surface'of the can, a pair of folder rolls spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the can on opposite sides of the opening through which the can is to move, means for moving the cans upward between said folder rolls while the label 'is clamped to the can,

the folder rolls giving a yielding pressure to press the downwardly extending portions of the-label against the two opposite sides of the can, the label being of such length that its two opposite ends will extend down below the lower edges of the can, means for reciprocating one ofsaid folder rolls in such manner that it folds one of'the downwardly extending ends up against the under side of the can, and means for moving 'the can in a direction to cause it to ride over the other folder roll and thereby fold the second downwardly extending endup against the under side of the can;

. 7. A can labelin machine having a support for a label, sa1d support being formed with a recess for the passage of a can, means for applying glue to the under surfaceof a label, -means for transferring the gummed label onto said support and positionmg it so as'to bridge the passage for the can, means for moving the can upward through said passage into engagement with the label, and

then to move upward carrying the label with I it, and folding members between which the can with the label is moved for folding the labelagainst two opposite sides of the can, said label, being of suflicient lengthyto have end portions extending 'down below the lower edge of the -can when it has been folded against two opposite sides, means for then moving one of said folding members inward on the under side of the can tofold one of the said two downwardly extending portions against the under side of the can, and means for then moving the can laterally so that the other downwardly extending portion of the label will trail over the other folding member and be folded against the under side of the can.

8. A can labeling machine having a label support formed with an opening of sufficient width for the passage of a can upward through the support, means for positioning the label on said support transversely of said passage, means for moving a can upward through said passage against the under side of the label, means for clamping the label'against the upper surface of the can when the can has moved up into engagement with the label, means for continuing the upward movement of the can and the clamping member, folder members which engage the label on opposite sides of the can during its upward movement and thereby fold the label down against two opposite sides of the can, means for causing one of said folder members to move beneath the can and fold one end of the label.up against the under side of the can, and means for then moving the can over the surface of the other folding member, thereby folding the other downwardly extending end of the label up against the under side of the can.

9. A can labeling machine having a grid support for a label provided with a passageway therethrough of sufficient width for the passage of a can, an elevator below the passageway .in alinement therewith, feed mechanism for depositing and positioning the label on said grid over said passageway in such manner that a portion of the label at each end will lie on opposite sides of the passageway, means for moving the elevator upward into engagement with the under side of the label, folding members on two opposite sides of the can passage above the label support,-the elevator actuatingmechanism. causing it to continue its movement upward after the label has been engaged by the can and to pass between the two folding members, whereby the label is folded down against two opposite sides of the can, means for actuating one of said two folding members to then move underneath the can and fold one of the two downwardly extending portions of the label up against the under side of the can, and means for then moving the can together with the label laterally over the other of said two folding members and cause the second downwardly depending end of the label to be thereby folded up against the bottom of the can.

10. A can labeling machine having a label support formed with an opening for the passage of a can, gluing mechanism for applying adhesive to the under face of the label, means for transferring the label from the gluing mechanism to a position on the support bridging the can passage, a side guide to aid in positioning the label, vertically reciprocating elevator mechanism to raise the can into engagement with the under side of the label and then to move farther upward, means actuated by the elevator mechanism to move the label support laterally and bring the label .into contact with the side guide, presser mechanism to engage the upper face of the label and clamp it against the can, and folder mechanism to fold the label down on two opposite sides of the can when the can continues to rise, said clamping mechanism being adapted to move upward with the can.

11. A can labeling machine having a slotted label support, gluing mechanism, means for feeding a label over the gluing mechanism and to a position over the slot in the label support, means for moving a can up into engagement with the label and through the slot in the support, and means for then folding the label against the sides of the can, the means for moving the label over the gluing mechanism to the label support con-- sisting of a feed roll and shaft on which said feed roll is loosely mounted, a reciprocable carrier in which said shaft is mounted, said feed roll having a recess in its periphery, a bell crank finger pivotally mounted in said recess, a notch and pin connection between said shaft and one arm of said finger, whereby the rotation of the shaft will rock said finger on its pivot, the other arm of said finger being adapted to rock into engagement with the outer periphery of the roll when the shaft has rotated, and thereby clamp a label to the periphery of the roll, means for rocking said shaft and means for giving a sliding movement to the carrier to move the said roll over the label support across the said slot opening and lay the label crosswise of said opening, and means for rocking the said shaft backward to release the grip on the label.

12. A can labeling machine having a label support formed with a slot, means for positioning a label on said support so that it bridges said slot, means for moving a can up through said slot in contact with the under side of the label, and carrying the engaged portion of the label upward, means ifo-r clamping the label to the upper side of said can, folder devices between which the can passes in its upward movement with the label so positioned that theyfold the ends of the label down against the two opposite sides of the can, means for actuating one of said folding mechanisms to fold one of the downwardly extending ends of the label up against the under side of the can, two friction plates spaced apart from each other in position to engage t e two opposite vertical so as to form a yieldin pressure against the p can, and means for pus ing the can laterally from between the friction plates over the I second folder mechanism, thereby causing the second folder ,mechanism to fold the second end of the label up against the under side of the can.-

13. A can labelin machine having a label feed, an elevator ormovin the cans up into engagement with the la e1, means for wrapping a label about the can, a driving shaft, means whereby said driving shaft actuates the label feed, the can carrier and the wrapping means, means for actuating said driving shaft, clutch mechanism between said drivingshaft and actuating means, a rocker shaft, means actuated by the rocker shaft to disengage said clutchat a predetermined point in the rotation of the driving shaft, and means actuated by the position of a can upon the elevator to render said clutch disengaging member inoperative.

14. In a labeling machine, means for moistening the label, means for applying a coating of adhesive to the under surface of the moistened label, a label support comprising a series of parallel narrow surfaces spaced apart from each other, a guide alongside of said label support, means for transferring the adhesive-coated label to the label support with the label thereon laterally in a direction at right angles to said guide to bring the side edgeof the label against said guide.

15. In a labeling machine, means for moistening and pasting a label, means for moving a label through the moistening and pasting instrumentahties to a position adjacent where it is adapted to be applied to the package, means for moving the label in the same plane with its former movement in a direction at right angles to its former path of movement, means for causing the label -when moved laterally to be alined in a predetermined position, and means for applying the label to the package.

16. In a labeling machine, means formoistening and pasting a label, means for moving a label through the moistening and pasting instrumentallties to a position of rest,

'means for then moving the label in a direction at right angles to the direction of its previous movement, and means for causing the label thus moved to be alined in a predetermined definite position.

In testimon whereof I aflix m signature.

EORGE A. B0 INSON.

ort, and means for moving the label sup- 

